CampusLoftBeds Projects

We are proud to announce the first installment of free loft bed plans. These plans are a response to multiple requests for additions to our loft beds. Our first free plan set allows customers to create an alarm clock shelf that can be easily mounted to the top of our loft bed legs.  We dont feel like customers should have to struggle with loft bed construction, thats why we make our plans easy to follow. The new free loft bed plans can be added to your cart when you check-out and downloaded when you download your other plans. We would love to see this free addition in action; keep those pictures coming in!

Filed under: Loft Bed Construction on August 15th, 2010 | No Comments »

We get questions from time to time here at campusloftbeds.com about just how large our loft beds are. When we designed our loft beds we knew there was a balance between having too much room and having too little. The result was The Sullivan Loft Bed.  Our loft bed is just over 6 ft. long and wide enough to fit your mattress and whatever bedding you may have. Lots of dorms have clearance requirements that cannot be ignored. We think we found just the right balance of accommodating height with a bed that is about 4′-6″ from ground to the bottom railing.

The end result is a bed that should fit into almost any room while at the same time not limit what you plan to do below the bed.  If you have any clever uses for your bed, we would love to hear about it, drop us a line at:

projects@campusloftbeds.com

Filed under: Dorm Life, Blogroll on August 9th, 2010 | No Comments »

From time to time here at Campusloftbeds, we get questions about how to make your loft bed fire retardant. We assume this request stems from the fact that many universities have lots of requirements for a loft bed. This is understandable and we are happy to help.

The first thing to realize is that your loft bed can be made perfectly safe by using any number of fire retarders that you can pick up online or at your local hardware store.  Most of these retarders can be purchased as a clear coat to apply to your bed or as a paint.  So it can be applied and not really impact the look of your bed if you would like.

One product we like is made by FireTect.  It is a non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, latex based paint that is completely safe for use indoors.  I have played with this product a little and it definitely works.  The second product we recommend is made by Flametard.  They make a clear coat that can be placed directly over the wood for an invisible finish.  You can find other products at the hardware store, these are just the two that we have tried an like.

If you find a product that you like, leave us a comment or drop us a line at projects@campusloftbeds.com

Filed under: Loft Bed Construction on July 25th, 2009 | No Comments »

Dorm rooms can be cramped. Here at CampusLoftBeds, we can offer a solution. Our loft plans should increase your living space by a good bit.  But just how much, you may be asking?  Well we did some investigating to figure out what can be placed under your loft.  Our twin xl loft bed should afford you an extra 23 ft² of space!  What you do with that space is up to you.  Here are some tips:

• Anything that is smaller than 73″ long: loveseat, a full size futon, a twin futon
• An entertainment center
• A mini jam space for your band (yes, Im serious, I have actually done this)
• A video game center
• A desk
• A computer workstation

Really the sky is the limit.  Feel free to experiment with the space.  While 23 ft² sounds like it might not be all that much, consider that many dorm rooms are no bigger than about 100 ft².  If you put two loft beds in a room, you will be increasing your usable floor space by 50%.  Not too shabby!

Filed under: Dorm Life, Loft Bed Construction, Loft Bed Projects on July 13th, 2009 | No Comments »

So you have decided to build a loft bed. You have your tools all laid out and you have purchased a set of loft plans from campusloftbeds.com. Now what?Now all you have to do is head to the local hardware store to buy all your parts. As a test, I wanted to see how much it would cost to buy all of the materials needed to build a loft bed. I see loft bed kits offered online for $100’s, surely it cannot cost that much. For my experiment I used the twin loft bed plans and headed to a local Lowe’s hardware to do a little research.

The parts list found on the first page of the loft plans made shopping a breeze. I found all of the parts in probably less than 20 minutes. So how much did everything cost?

So for just under $100 you can build your own loft. The price above also includes the cost of a sheet of plywood. Most of the loft bed kits that are available online do not include this cost.

Filed under: Construction Techniques, Free Loft Bed Plans, Loft Bed Construction on July 5th, 2009 | No Comments »

So you have completed your loft bed, but dont really like the unfinished look. Well there are lots of options available to you, you just have to find the one that suites you. We like the natural look of pine and often just apply a clear coat to our beds. You can get a variety of different finishes, but we like the ones that are water based. They are less toxic and still do a wonderful job. Minwax has a couple of water based clear coats to choose from and they can be found at most hardware stores.

As another option you can stain your bed. We like the Minwax Polyshades. And best of all, it comes in a low VOC version, which is good for the environment! It is a little less toxic than the regular Polyshades, but you should still wait about 72 hours before sleeping on your newly stained bed.

Before you finish, you will probably want to sand your bed a bit to remove marks on the lumber and to smooth out the rough areas.  A good 150 grit paper should do the trick.  You can move up to a 300 grit if you would like before you apply the stain.

Filed under: Loft Bed Construction, Loft Bed Projects on June 29th, 2009 | No Comments »

We got a new email a few days ago that we just had to share. A recent loft plan customer was having a little bit of trouble and wanted some tips on constructions techniques. We are always happy to help here, so after a couple of emails we sent the customer back to the shop. A few days later he shared his results:

” I bought two things that proved invaluable to my ultimate success. One
was something from Home Depot called the Universal Square…

http://universalsquare.com/

I love this thing.

The other was a set of three quality clamps called Duo Klamp, by BESSY:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=179667-1073-DUO30-8

These things are awesome.

My technique for cutting the four notches was as follows…

1. stand all four 2×6 boards on end and use two clamps, at either end,
to clamp firmly to a solid structure (I used the workbench)

2. mark all four boards, where the notches begin and end

3. line up the circular saw with the first line, and clamp on the
Universal Square to guide the circular saw

4. cut through all four boards, with the saw blade set at 1.5″ deep

5. slightly slide the Universal Square to the right, return to step 4,
until the 3.5″ wide notch has been completed

The notches turn out near perfect — and definitely good enough. The
first loft is VERY sturdy and again, our daughter LOVES it.”

Thanks for sharing the tips! If you have tips, feel free to share them with us: projects@campusloftbeds.com

Filed under: Loft Bed Construction on June 17th, 2009 | No Comments »

You have bought your loft bed plans from us and now are ready to go shopping at your favorite hardware store for materials. The parts list we provide details everything you will need, but the grade and type of lumber are not shown.  In all honesty we expect everyone to buy what the hardware stores generally have.  This lumber is usually grade no. 2 lumber.  Our beds have been designed using no. 2 Southern Pine.  But what if you want to use something else?

Generally speaking Southern Pine will be softer than most other building lumber that is available throughout the US.  In the west you might find Spruce-Fir instead of Southern Pine. This is no issue, as the Spruce-Fir has a greater bending capacity and axial compressive strength than the Southern Pine (translation: it is stronger). So the lumber that is generally available to you as building material should mostly be adequate. If you have any questions please write us at: projects@campusloftbeds.com

Filed under: Loft Bed Construction on June 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

We get questions from time to time here at campusloftbeds.com about just how large our loft beds are. When we designed our loft beds we knew there was a balance between having too much room and having too little. The result was The Sullivan Loft Bed.  Our loft bed is just over 6 ft. long and wide enough to fit your mattress and whatever bedding you may have. Lots of dorms have clearance requirements that cannot be ignored. We think we found just the right balance of accommodating height with a bed that is about 4′-6″ from ground to the bottom railing.

The end result is a bed that should fit into almost any room while at the same time not limit what you plan to do below the bed.  If you have any clever uses for your bed, we would love to hear about it, drop us a line at: projects@campusloftbeds.com

Filed under: loft-bed-plans, Loft Bed Projects on June 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »

So you have completed your loft bed, but dont really like the unfinished look. Well there are lots of options available to you, you just have to find the one that suites you. We like the natural look of pine and often just apply a clear coat to our beds. You can get a variety of different finishes, but we like the ones that are water based. They are less toxic and still do a wonderful job. Minwax has a couple of water based clear coats to choose from and they can be found at most hardware stores.

As another option you can stain your bed. We like the Minwax Polyshades. And best of all, it comes in a low VOC version, which is good for the environment! It is a little less toxic than the regular Polyshades, but you should still wait about 72 hours before sleeping on your newly stained bed.

Before you finish, you will probably want to sand your bed a bit to remove marks on the lumber and to smooth out the rough areas.  A good 150 grit paper should do the trick.  You can move up to a 300 grit if you would like before you apply the stain.

Filed under: Construction Techniques, loft-bed-plans on May 24th, 2009 | No Comments »